Jury selection enters Day 3 in Zimmerman trial

Tracy Martin, right, and Sybrina Fulton, the parents of slain teen Trayvon Martin, make a statement to reporters during a news conference at the Seminole County Courthouse, in Sanford, Fla., Wednesday, June 12, 2013. In the background is their attorney Benjamin Crump. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank, Pool)

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys trying to seat a jury in George Zimmerman’s trial for shooting an unarmed teen stopped questioning a white man in his 20s Wednesday after he gave answers that indicated he wouldn’t be impartial.

The juror, known as “R-39” because potential panelists can be identified only by their numbers, said that “murder is murder,” even if it’s self-defense. Zimmerman, 29, is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year in self-defense.

A 44-day delay in Zimmerman’s arrest last year led to protests around the U.S. They questioned whether the Sanford Police Department was seriously investigating the case of Martin, a black teen from the Miami area. Zimmerman, who was a neighborhood watch volunteer in his gated community of Sanford, identifies himself as Hispanic.

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The potential juror left the Florida courtroom without defense attorneys asking questions.

Attorneys had interviewed two dozen potential jurors by the end of the third day of selection, including 10 on Wednesday. The court announced that 75 jury candidates have been dismissed.

Potential jurors questioned Wednesday also included a white man in his 50s whose prior Facebook posting earned a question from Judge Debra Nelson. The nature of the posting wasn’t disclosed but the judge asked the self-described painter and musician if he had made it. He said yes and left the courtroom a few minutes later. Earlier in the questioning, he said he thought Zimmerman should have been arrested but he hadn’t formed an opinion on his guilt or innocence.

Also interviewed Wednesday were a white woman in her mid-20s who expressed concerns about her safety if picked and a black woman in her 20s who lived nearby the shooting but said she hadn’t formed an opinion about it. A white woman in her 50s said didn’t like the negative image of Sanford that was portrayed in the media after the shooting happened there.

A white man in his 40s said serving on the jury would create a hardship for his young family, and a black woman in her 50s, who said she initially thought the Sanford Police Department should have done more to investigate the shooting. The investigation was eventually taken over by the State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville.

After Wednesday’s courtroom session had ended, Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, said his family was encouraged so far in what he had seen in jury selection.

“We are encouraged as a family that we can get justice for our son Trayvon, and we expect the public to come forth and be honest as potential jurors,” Tracy Martin said.

In the jury selection process established by Nelson, once 30 jurors have been questioned individually about pretrial exposure and have not been dismissed for cause or hardships, they will be brought together as a group for broader questioning by lawyers on both sides. The court announced at the end of Wednesday’s session that 20 potential jurors thus far are being held over for that next round of questioning. Thus far, Zimmerman’s attorneys have been unable to find potential jurors who hadn’t heard something about the fatal shooting of Martin.

Nelson has said she will keep the identities of the selected jurors anonymous but she rejected a defense request to sequester the initial jury pool of 500 residents.

Attorneys need to find six jurors and four alternates. In Florida, 12 jurors are required only for criminal trials involving capital cases, when the death penalty is being considered.

Defense attorneys have asked potential jurors if being isolated during the trial would be a hardship, indicating they plan to ask Nelson to sequester the jury.